Gloucester bridge will be fixed for Tall Ships Festival

A bridge that cannot be raised to allow ships to sail into Gloucester docks will be fixed in time for the Tall Ships Festival, a trust has said.

The High Orchard Bridge, over the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, cannot be lifted after cracks were found by Canal and River Trust engineers.

Currently, tall ships have to have their masts dismantled to sail under the bridge and re-built once through.

A trust spokesperson said it should be "fully operational" for May's festival.

The Tall Ships Festival, which takes place over the late May bank holiday weekend, has not been held since 2022.

This year's visiting ships include the Phoenix, which featured in Ridley Scott's blockbuster film Napoleon, and the TS Irene which appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

The bridge repair work will allow it to open for boats above 5m (16ft) tall, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Gloucester City Council's cabinet member for culture and leisure, Andy Lewis, said he has been reassured the works will be completed within three weeks.

"It should be open well in time for the Tall Ships Festival. That was my main concern," he said.

"I asked them [the Canal and River Trust] the specific question: will it be ready? And they said yes. I have to take them at their word."

A spokesperson for the trust said plans were being developed for the "safe method" of repairing the bridge.

"We have developed a provisional timeline which suggests the bridge will be fully operational again for the first week of May, subject to the final method being confirmed," they said.

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